Military dictatorship in Brazil
The authoritarian regime established by Brazil’s 1964 military coup, which governed through 1985, when civilian rule was restored.
Institutional Act Number Five: A 1968 decree that expanded executive power, suspended political rights, and enabled Congress to be closed. It became the regime’s central instrument for intensifying repression and overriding constitutional protections.
1964 Brazilian coup d'état: The military overthrow of President João Goulart in Brazil, which began the dictatorship. The coup removed the elected government and inaugurated military rule.
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco: Brazilian army general and the first president of the military regime, serving from 1964 to 1967. His administration established early institutional changes that consolidated military rule.
Brazilian economic miracle: A period of rapid economic growth in Brazil, chiefly from 1968 to 1973, accompanied by rising inequality. The regime’s growth strategy brought rapid expansion alongside concentrated wealth and social costs.
Fourth Brazilian Republic: Brazil’s democratic period from 1946 until the 1964 military coup. Its competitive politics and constitutional framework provide the immediate contrast to military rule.
National Security Doctrine: A Cold War doctrine that treated internal political conflict as a security threat and justified military intervention. It supplied an ideological rationale for governing dissent as a threat to national security.
João Goulart: Brazilian president from 1961 until his overthrow in the 1964 military coup. His reform agenda and political crisis were central to the conflict preceding the coup.
Emílio Garrastazu Médici: Brazilian army general and president from 1969 to 1974, during the dictatorship’s harshest repression. His government became associated with intensified torture, censorship, and political persecution.
Diretas Já: A mass campaign in 1983–1984 demanding direct presidential elections in Brazil. The movement made popular pressure for democratic restoration impossible to ignore.
Brazilian redemocratization: The gradual restoration of democratic institutions in Brazil, culminating in civilian government and the 1988 Constitution. The negotiated transition distinguishes the regime’s ending from a sudden revolutionary overthrow.